Profile measuring and recording device.



M. 111.011.1111. A PROFILE MEASURING AND RECORDING DEVICE. APPLICATIONFILED JIINE 30, 1910.

9873863. Patented 111511128, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- 122.9 J1 l 4a0 l J0 Willi/107m Patented 111211228,1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET z.

M. M. CRAM. PROPILEAMEASURING AND RECORDING DEVICE. APPLIUATION FILEDJUNE so, 1910. 987,863.

rus NcnRls PETERS co., wAsHINamN, n, c.

UNIE STA "ES ANT FIE.,

PROFILE MEASURING AND RECORDING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 28, 1911.

Application filed June 30, 1910. Serial No. 569,794.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MARSHALL M. CRAM, a. citizen of the United States,residing at Belgrade, in the county of Nicollet and State of Minnesota,have invented a new and useful Profile Measuring and Recording Device,of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a profile measuring and recording device.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, efficientand easily operated instrument, adapted for making cross sections,profiles and maps of small areas of land, and capable of automaticallytracing on a sheet of paper' the profile of the surface over which aportion of the device is carried.

V'Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claimshereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form,proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope ofthe claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a profile measuringand recording device, constructed in accordance with this invention.Fig. 2 is an enlarged fro-nt elevation of the upper portion of theprofile measuring and recording device, partly in section. Fig. 3 is arear elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the profilemeasuring and recording device. Fig.

5 is a horizontal sectional view, taken substantially on the line 5 5 ofFig. 4.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, the profile measuring and recording device comprises in itsconstruction a vertical staff 1, designed to be constructed of wood, orother suitable material, and provided at its lower end with a steelpoint 2 to enable it to be firmly planted in the ground, but theinstrument may also be equipped with a tripod 53 to assist in firmlysupporting the staff in a vertical position. In practice the staff willbe equipped with a suitable leveling device 4 to enable the staff to beaccurately placed in a vertical position, when the instrument is set upfor use.

Mounted upon one side of the staff is a vertically disposed screw 5,journaled at its ends in upper and lower bearing brackets 6 and havingthreads, one hundred to the foot, or other predetermined number, forenabling the distance over whicha pole or rod 7 is carried to beaccurately indicated. The screw, which is rotated by the meanshereinafter described, actuates a vertical movable nut 8, interiorlythreaded to correspond with the threads of the screw and provided with ahorizontally projecting arm 9, carrying a vertically movable rod 10 andconnected to the lower end of the same, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3of the drawings. The rod 10, which is preferably square, is guided in anopening 11 in the top of a vertically disposed supporting bracket 12,and thereby holds the nut against rotary movement, so that the rotarymovement of the screw will operate to move the nut and the slidable rod10 vertically. Any other suitable means, however, may be employed forguiding the arm 9 of the nut and the rod in their vertical travel. Thebearing brackets 6, which are L-shaped, are secured to the rear face ofthe staff 1 and have horizontally projecting portions provided withbearing openings in which the reduced terminals 13 of the screw arejournaled. The supporting bracket 12 is approximately U-shape, beingcomposed of a vertical outer portion and horizontal top and bottomportions, which are secured to the staff 1 at one edge thereof, asclearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The vertically movable rod carries a bracket 14, consisting of a lowervertical attaching portion and a curved upper portion 15 to which issecured the lower end 16 of a broad thin vertically disposed steelspring 17. The upper end of the steel spring is equipped with a pencilclamp 18, and is adapted to hold the point o-f a pencil 19 or othermarker against a. sheet of paper, secured to the face of an oscillatorytablet 20 by upper and lower paper clamps 21. The tablet, which isconstructed of wood, or other suitable material, is carried by anoscillatory arm 22, having a forked inner portion forming branches 23and 24. The branch 23 is preferably integral with the outer portion ofthe arm 22, and the branch 24 maybe con- .the oscillatory tablet.

veniently constructed by securing a separate piece of metal to the arm22 at a point intermediate of the ends thereof. r1`he branches Q3 and 24of the oscillatory arm are provided with bearing openings 25 and 2G,receiving horizontally alined pivots 27 and Q8, and the branch 24 isprovided with a. vertical extension 29, which is secured to the rearface of The branches 23 and 24 are resilient and are adapted to bereadily sprung off the pivots Q7 and 2S to enable the arm and the tabletto be removed, The pivot 28 is formed integral with the vertical portionof the supporting bracket 12, and the other pivot 27 is provided with anattaching flange or plate 30, secured to the staff 1 at one of the sideedges thereof.

The outer end 31 of the oscillatory arm is bent laterally and providedwith an opening through which passes a line 32 of fine steel wire, orother suitable material. The line 32 extends from the outer end of theoscillatory arm to the staff and passes through a aperture hereof,arranged in the plane of the center of the pivots of the osc1llatoryarm. The line is then passed partially around the horizontally disposedwheel 34, secured to the screw 5 at the upper end thereof and having agrooved periphery, the wheel being ono foot in circumference at thebottom of the peripheral groove. The line also passes through an opening35 of the staff and extends under a guide pulley 36 and upwardlytherefrom to a spool or drum 37. The guide pulley 36 is mounted in asuitable supporting bracket 38, and the drum or spool 37, which isdesigned to contain a quantity of line, is connected witha barrel spring39, adapted to rewind the line after the same has been drawn outward inthe operation of t-he instrument, as hereinafter more fully explained.The spool or drum 37 is fixed to a horizontal shaft 40, ourrlaled in asuitable frame or bracket 41 and carrying a pinion 49., which mesheswith a gear wheel 43 with which one end of the spring is connected. Theother end of the spring is suitably fixed, and when the line is unwoundfrom the spool, the spring is laced under tension and is adapted torewind the line when the same is permitted to be rewound, as hereinafterfully explained. The tabletis provided with a counter-balancing weight44, preferably arranged at the lower edge of the tablet and adapted tocounter-balance the same and the arm to cause such parts to respondreadily to the up and down movements of the line. The counter-balancingweight may be secured to the tablet by any suitable means. The wire line32 is provided at its outer end with a ring 45, which is designed to beconnected with a sliding clamp 4G on the rod or pole 7. Then the nut isnear the lower end of the screw, and the ring 45 is at the outer end ofthe oscillatory arm 22 and the latter is horizontal, the point of thepencil is slightly above zero, the distance being one hundredth of thedistance between the staff and the rod 7 if the latter were attached tothe ring. In practice the tablet will have a permanent mark across it toshow where the trace of a line indicating ay true horizontal surfacewould cross the paper. and the latter' will be provided with a ruledline and will be adjusted on the tablet, so that such line will coincidewith the said permanent mark. This ruled line on the paper will thenindicate the trace of a level surface, and the mark made by the pencilpoint will show how much above or below a level is the actual surface ofthe ground measured.

The instrument is used by setting it just outside the piece of ground ofwhich a cross section or profile is to be made. Assume that it is placedtlirce feet from the edge of a street that is to be graded and the staffheld firmly in a vertical position with the rod '7 and the wireextending in the direction across the street. The pole or rod is placedvertically at the edge of the street and the wire is drawn out to thepolel or rod, and the ring is attached to the same at such height that*the drawn out part is level. Then as it is three feet from the center ofthe pole to the center line of the pivots of the oscillatory arm, thepoint of the pencil must be three one hundredths of a foot above thezero point. on the tablet. The operator then carries the pole with thewire attached across the street, holding the pole vertical and keepingits lower end at the surface of the ground. As the wire is drawn out,the wheel and the screw revolve, raising the nut, the arm and thevertically movable rod, which carries the pencil. 1f the surface overwhich the rod is carried is level and smooth, the tablet will remainstationary, and the pencil will trace a vertical line on the sheet ofpaper on the tablet. If the ground slopes up or down, the tablet willswing back and forth, being guided by the direction of the wire passingthrough the hole at the outer end of the oscillatory arm, and the pencilwill trace on the paper the exact configuration of the surface of the`ground passed over by the operator with the pole on a scale of onehundred to one. lVhen the operator reaches the other side of the street,an assistant at the instrument will spring the pencil back away from thepaper and will secure it in such inoperative position by a catch 48, consisting of a pivoted hook or loop, or other suitable device mounted onthe vertically movable rod and arranged to engage theV pencil clamp, asclearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. The operator thenreturns to the instrument and the spiral spring will operate to rewindthe wire on the spool or drum and keep it taut enough to rotate thewheel and screw, and therebyA bring the pencil back to the zero point onthe tablet. The paper can then be adjusted on the tablet so as to makeanother line, or a continuation of the same line on the same piece ofpaper, or a new sheet of paper can be applied to the instrument,and thelatter moved to another station and the operation repeated. Thesupporting bracket l2 is provided with a fixed pointer 49, arranged tocoperate with a mark on the oscillatoryv tablet for indicating when theoscillatory aim and theA wire are level.

The dimensions of the parts of the instrunient may be varied to provideinstruments of different sizes and capacities. The sag of the wire whenit is drawn out will aiifect to some extent the accuracy of the linetraced on the paper of the tablet. Its amount may be observed atintervals for each instrument, the sag depending upon the pull of thespring, and the tracing made by the instrument on the paper on thetablet may be corrected.

It' the surface of which a profile or cross section is to be made shouldbe covered with a low dense growth of brush, or 'if there should beother obstructions, which it is not desired to show on the profile andwhich makes it iinpracticable to carry the pole with its lower end atthe surface, the pole may be set at intervals of a few feet, or atprominent points of elevation and depressions of the surface, and thepencil held away from the paper by the assistant when the pole is beingcarried forward from each of such points to the next and allowed to snapagainst the paper when the pole is placed on the ground, thus making aseries of dots across the paper instead of a continuous line. The dotsmay be `joined together afterward by a pencil line passing through them.

Two sights 50 and 51 are placed on the upper edge of the tablet parallelto the wire where it passes along the arm. The sliding clamp to whichthe wire is attached carries a target 52 at the saine height above thepoint where the wire is attached that thev sights are above the wire atthe instrument, and by holding the tablet so that the line of sightscoincides with the target on the pole and snapping a dot on the paperwith the pencil, the amount of inaccuracies caused by the sag of theline and the amount of correction required can be determined at anypoint.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A device of the class described including recording mechanism, meansfor supporting the same at a fixed point over the surface to bemeasured, a device movable to and from the recording` mechanism andadapted to be carried over the surface to be measured, and a lineconnected with the movable device and with the recording mechanism foractuating the latter.

2. A device of the class described including a rod adapted to be carriedover the surface to be measured, relatively fixed recording mechanism,and a line connecting the rod with the recording mechanism for actuatingthe latter while the recording mechanism is at a fixed point.

3. A device of the class described including a rod adapted to be carriedover the surface to be measured, a line connected with the rod, andrecording mechanism comprising an oscillatory tablet connected with andactuated by the line, a marker, and means also actuated byv the line formoving the marker over the tablet.

A. A device of the class described including a rod adapted to be carriedover the surface to be measured, a line connected with the rod, andrecording mechanism comprising an oscillatory arm connected with andadapted to be actuated by the line, an oscillatory tablet connected withthe arm, a marker, and means also actuated by the line for moving themarker across the tablet.

5. A device of the class described including a rod adapted to be carriedover the surface to be measured, a line connected with the rod, andrecording mechanism comprising an oscillatory tablet, an arm connectedwith the tablet and having an opening through which the line passes,whereby the tablet will be oscillated by a transverse movement of theline, and means actuated by the line for moving a marker in a fixedcourse across the tablet.

6. A device of the class described including a rod adapted to be carriedover the surface to be measured, a line connected with the rod, andrecording mechanism comprising an oscillatory tablet, an arm connectedwith the tablet and having an opening through which the line passes,whereby the tablet will be oscillated by a transverse movement of theline, and mechanism also actuated by the line for moving a marker in astraight line across the tablet.

7. A device of the class described including` a rod adapted to becarried over the surface to be measured, a line attached to the rod, anoscillatory tablet connected with the line and adapted to be actuated bythe transverse movement thereof, a slide movable across the tablet andprovided with means for holding a marker against the same, and mechanismoperated by the line for actuating the slide.

8. A device of the class described including a rod adapted to be carriedover the surface to be measured, a line attached to the rod, anoscillatory tabletconnected with the line and adapted to be actuated bythe transverse movement thereof, a slide provided with a yieldablymounted clamp adapted to hold a marker against the tablet, and mechanismoperated by the line for actuating the slide.

9. A device of the class described including a rod adapted to be carriedover the surface to be measured, a line attached to the rod, anoscillatory tablet connected with the line and adapted to be act-uatedby the transverse movement thereof, a slide provided with a springconnected at one end with the slide, a clamp mounted on the spring' atthe free end thereof and adapted to hold a, pencil against the tablet,and mechanism operated by the line t'or actuating the slide.

10. A device ot the class described including a rod adapted to becarried over the surface to be measured, a line attached to the rod, anoscillatory tablet connected with the line and adapted to be actuated bythe transverse movement thereof, a slide provided with a bracket mountedon the slide and having a projecting portion, a spring secured at oneend to t-he bracket and extending longitudinally ot the slide, a clampmounted on the spring at the free end thereof and adapted to hold amarker against the tablet, and mechanism operated by the line foractuating the slide.

11. A device ot the class described including a rod adapted to becarried over the surface to be measured, a line attached to the rod, anoscillatory tablet connected with the line and adapted to be actuated bythe transverse movement thereof, a slide provided with a springconnected with the slide and carried by the same, a clamp mounted on thespring for holding a marker against the tablet, and a catch carried bythe slide and arranged to hold the marker out of contact with thetablet.

12. A device of the class described including an. oscillatory tablet, aline connected with and adapted to actuate the tablet, a screw, a wheelconnected with the screw and receiving` the line and adaptedto berotated by the same for impart-ing rotary movement to the said screw, anut actuated by the screw, and a marker connected with the nut andmovable across the tablet.

13. A device of the class described including an oscillatory tablet, aline connected with and adapted to act-nate the tablet, a rotary screw,a wheel connected with the screw and receiving and rotated by the line,a slide movable across the tablet, a nut connected with the slide andengaged by the screw, and a marker carried by the slide.

14. i1 device of the class described ineluding an oscillatory tablet, aline connected with the tablet and adapted to actuate the same, aslidable rod movable across the tablet and provided with means torholding a marker against the saine, ay screw provided with a wheelreceiving the line and rotated by the same, and a nut engaged by thescrew and having an arm connected wit-h the slidable rod.

15. A device of the class described including an oscillatory tablet, arotary screw, a wheel connected with the screw, a slide act-uated by thcscrew and provided with means for carrying a marker across the tablet, aspool or drum, a line wound on the spool or drum and arranged on thesaid wheel and adapted to rotate the screw and also connected with andadapted to oscillate the tablet, and a spring connected with the spoolor drum for rewinding the line thereon.

16. A. device ot the class described including an oscillatory tablet, avertical screw, a horizontal wheel mounted on the screw, a spool or drumlocated above the plane of the wheel, a guide pulley located below thespool or drum, a line wound around the spool or drum and extending tothe guide pulley and arranged on and adapted to rotate the wheel andconnected also with and adapted to oscillate the tablet, a nut engagedby the screw, and a marker actuated by the nut and movable across thetablet.

17. A device of the class described including an oscillatory tablet, avertical screw, a horizontal wheel mounted on the screw, a spool or drumlocated above the plane ot the wheel, a guide pulley located below thespool or drum, a line wound around the spool or drum and extending tothe guide pulley and arranged on and adapted to rotate the wheel andconnected also with and'adapted to oscillate the tablet, a nat engagedby the screw, a marker actuated by the nut and movable across thetablet, a spring for rewinding the line on the spool or drum, andgearing coniiecting the spring with the said spool or drum.

1S. fr device et' the class described comprising a statt, a bracketsecured to the statt, an oscillatory arm having an opening at its outerportion and provided with a forked inner portion arranged within thebracket and pivotally connected with the same and with the statt, atablet secured to one of the sides of the i'orlied portion of the arm, amarker movable across the tablet, mechanism including a wheel foractuating' the marker, and a line arranged on and adapted to rotate thewheel and extending through the opening of the arm 'for oscillating thetablet.

19. A device of the class described including a rod provided with atarget, a line attached to the rod, an oscillatory tablet connected withand actuated by the line, a marker, mechanism also operated by the linefor actuating the marker, and sights mounted on the tablet.

20. A device of the class described including a rod, an oscillatorytablet, an arm connected therewith, a line attached to the rod andconnected with the arm for oscillating the tablet, recording mechanismalso operated by the line and provided with a marker movable across thetablet, and sights mount ed on the tablet in parallelism With the arm.

2l. A device of the class described including a rod, a stati, anoscillatory tablet mounted on the staff, an arm connected with thetablet, a line attached to the rod and conneoted With the arm foroscillating the tablet, a relatively xed pointer co-acting With thetablet for indicating ivhen the arm is in a predetermined position Withrelation to the staff, and recording mechanism also operated by the lineand having a marker movable across the tablet.

22. A device of the class described including an oscillatory tabletprovided With clamps for holding a sheet of paper on it, an armconnected With the tablet, recording mechanism provided with a markermovable across the tablet, and a line connected with the arm foroscillating the tablet and also arranged to operate the recordingmechanism.

23. A device of the class described including a stati, a t-ripod forsupporting the same in an upright position, an oscillatory tablet,

an arm connected with the tablet, recording mechanism having a markermovable across the tablet, and a line arranged to actuate the recordingmechanism and connected With the arm tor oscillating the tablet.

24. A device ot the class described comprising a rod, a staif, a spoolor drum mounted on the stati, a line Wound around the spool or drum andattached to the statt, a spring connected With the spool or drum forreWinding the line thereon, an oscillatory tablet mounted on the staff,an arm connected with the tablet and having an opening receiving theline, and recording` mechanism including a marker movable across thetablet, a Wheel receiving the line and arranged to be rotated by thesame when the line is univound from and rewound on the spool or drum,and means connected With the Wheel and With the marker for actuating thelatter.

ln testimony, that l claim the foregoing as my own, l have heretoaiiiXed my signa ture in the presence of two Witnesses.

MARSHALL M. CRAM. Witnesses:

S. B. l/VILsoN, ELsIE KOKE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

